O Hanami

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Cherry Blossom
Have you heard of cherry blossom? It’s a type of flower which is very importantin Japan. People look forward to seeing the beautiful cherry blossoms bloomin the springtime, usually in March or April, and there are even ‘cherry blossom
forecasts’ on television to predict when they will appear. The Japanese namefor the flowers is sakura.

The cherry blossom flower is a national symbol of Japan. You can see
sakura on the 100 yen coin which is enough money to buy a bag ofcrisps or chocolate bar!

sakuraYou can also buy snacks and sweets in cherry blossom flavour, like the cherry
blossom ice cream, soy milk drink and chocolate in the photographs.

Dutch Blythe Fashion , CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

jpellgen (@1179_jp), CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

moirabot, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

What food or drink would you like to try in cherry blossom flavour?

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O Hanami
Cherry blossom season is not very long, so it has to be enjoyed while it lasts
and one of the best ways to do this is by having a picnic with family and friends
under the cherry blossom trees! This is called hanami in Japanese, whichmeans ‘cherry blossom viewing’. When the flowers are in full bloom parks will
be full of people hanging out and having hanami picnics.

Who would you invite to your dream hanami picnic?

Traditional Sweets
During the cherry blossom season, you will also find many traditional sweetsthat are only available during this time of the year. Hanami Dango and Sakura
Mochi are two of the most popular and you will often see them at hanami
picnics!
A Hanami Dango has three balls of mochi on a skewer. Each ball is a different
colour: pink, green, and white. Sakura mochi is pink and wrapped in a cherry
blossom leaf. There is a sweet paste in the middle.

HanamiDango

SakuraMochi

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Hanami Bento
Everyone relaxes at hanami and eats delicious food. The best way to bring foodto a hanami picnic is in a bento box, which is similar to a lunch box but isdivided up into sections for different types of food.

Blue Lotus , CC BY-2.0

Laliv g, CC BY-SA-4.0

Giatri Oktaviani, CC BY-SA-4.0

Look at the different pictures, what kinds of food can you see?

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ohana miKanji Characters
In Japanese characters hanami is written like this: 花見.
Why not try writing it below? Follow the stroke order and trace each character,then practice writing them on your own.

花
②③

①

④⑥

⑦⑤hana

②
① ③
④
⑤
⑥⑦

mi

花

Well done! Now you can practice writing the characters for ‘spring’ and ‘sakura’!

春春
桜桜
④①
②
③

⑥⑦

⑤

⑧
⑨haru

②①③

⑤

⑥

④

⑧

⑨⑦⑩sakuraThe JapanSocietyEducation
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Activity: Design Your Own Bento!
Design and make your own bento lunch box using some of the ingredients
below, or you can draw your own! Colour each ingredient, then with the helpof an adult, carefully cut each one out and glue it onto the bento template
provided. Don’t forget your fruits and vegetables!

broccolicherry tomatoes

fried chicken

hamburger steak

fried prawn

cut up sausage

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chipsrice ballapple slice

hard-boiled egg

kiwi

orange slice

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© The Japan Society (2021) | www.japansociety.org.uk | education@japansociety.org.uk

Bento BoxThe Japan Society | Education Resources | education@japansociety.org.uk | www.japansociety.org.uk

Origami Activity: Picnic Cup
You will need:•origami paper or square paper

1. Fold in half.

3. Fold in.

5. Fold down
and backward.

2. Fold in.

4. Fold down.

6. Finished!

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